"The big feelings stay big..."http://feminine-genius.typepad.com/femininegenius/2015/03/the-big-feelings-stay-big.html
This piece is laugh out loud funny, and a real shot in the arm to young mothers: I wish I would have known how new babies make all feelings MORE (and this from a girl who was already fairly high on melodrama): more thrill, more love, more anguish, more adoration, more fear, more gratitude, more doubt, more crazy. You may have been an emotionally sturdy professional just a minute ago, but a newborn takes your heart and mind, squishes them into pulp in her fat little baby hands, and turns you into a woman face down in despair over a Subaru commercial. Who is this sloppy woman in the mirror? Good lord, put on some clean pants and get your crap together! It does get easier eventually, but the drama goes from physical exhaustion to mental overload (at times). That said, she's spot on -- you really do enjoy these little ones as bona fide people one day. Such a privilege to ride this roller coaster!Good things!Motherhoodgsk2015-03-27T12:00:34-04:00When nature quakeshttp://feminine-genius.typepad.com/femininegenius/2015/03/when-nature-quakes.html
From Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger: The annunciation to Mary happens to a woman, in an insignificant town in half-pagan Galilee, known neither to Josephus nor the Talmud. The entire scene was "unusual for Jewish sensibilities. God reveals himself, where and to whom he wishes." Thus begins a new way, at whose center stands no longer the temple, but the simplicity of Jesus Christ. He is now the true temple, the tent of meeting. The salutation to Mary (Lk 1:28-32) is modeled closely on Zephaniah 3: 14-17: Mary is the daughter Zion addressed there, summoned to " rejoice", in formed that the Lord is coming to her. Her fear is removed, since the Lord is in her midst to save her. Laurentin makes the very beautiful remark on this text: "... As so often, the word of God proves to be a mustard seed.... One understands why Mary was so frightened by this message (Lk 1:29). Her fear comes not from lack of understanding nor from that small-hearted anxiety to which some would like to reduce it. It comes from the trepidation of that encounter with God, that immeasurable joy which can make the most hardened natures quake." In the address of...gsk2015-03-25T18:31:21-04:00"Medicating women's feelings"http://feminine-genius.typepad.com/femininegenius/2015/03/medicating-womens-feelings.html
Don't miss this stunning piece by Julie Holland in the NYT, which may signal a slow return of sanity to [some fringy corners?] of the social sciences. It begins: WOMEN are moody. By evolutionary design, we are hard-wired to be sensitive to our environments, empathic to our children’s needs and intuitive of our partners’ intentions. This is basic to our survival and that of our offspring. Some research suggests that women are often better at articulating their feelings than men because as the female brain develops, more capacity is reserved for language, memory, hearing and observing emotions in others. The writer is a psychiatrist, who notes that "at least one in four women in America now takes a psychiatric medication, compared with one in seven men ... This is insane." And MercatorNet's Carolyn Moynihan has written an excellent follow-up, which brings to light the other "pills" that have been used for decades to mask a normal dimension of femininity: What is really interesting in all this is Holland’s assumption that human biology has an ethical meaning: if you feel bad physically or mentally your body is telling you something and you had better listen and perhaps change, not just get...Birth control/abortionCultural SignpostsCurrent AffairsFeminismWomen in the Militarygsk2015-03-09T16:00:25-04:00Thoughtful momenthttp://feminine-genius.typepad.com/femininegenius/2015/03/thoughtful-moment.html
spread the word!Birth control/abortiongsk2015-03-05T21:29:42-05:00"Children of the Enemy"http://feminine-genius.typepad.com/femininegenius/2015/03/children-of-the-enemy.html
C-Fam is hosting an important panel next week, which will be chaired by local writer and human rights activist Dr Susan Yoshihara. She writes: Among the hundreds of Christians and minorities abducted by Islamic State terrorists are women and girls forced into marriage and sexual slavery. As world leaders fumble to respond to ISIS attacks, another crisis looms – the perilous future of these women and girls and the children they will conceive during captivity. Having researched the topic thoroughly, she is familiar with many historical examples, and since rape as a tool of war is nothing new we know two important facts: such children suffer tremendously because of the circumstances of their conception; and most aid programs do little to help them because they are not technically "survivors" of the conflicts. While tight-knit families and long-standing cultures have their strengths, they rarely welcome those whom they see as "children of the enemy" because of the shame that attaches to them and their mothers. One presenter will offer her own research from Africa: Eunice Apio has been working for more than a decade in Northern Uganda with women abducted by the guerilla group Lord’s Resistance Army and with their children...Current AffairsMotherhoodSexual violencegsk2015-03-05T18:20:41-05:00"We believe..."http://feminine-genius.typepad.com/femininegenius/2015/03/we-believe.html
A group of elderly women were spared by ISIS, and when found later by a group from Aid to the Church in Need, they recounted their story of encounter with the frightening militants. They had been spared for some reason, and that despite their testament of firm faith in the face of death. For four days, they locked themselves in their home, not daring to venture out. “Prayer sustained us,” said Victoria. But they needed food for the body as well as food for the soul and when supplies ran dangerously low they went in search of water and other basics. Inevitably they ran into IS forces. Explaining their situation, they asked for help and to their surprise IS gave them water even after they refused a request to abandon their faith. A few days later, IS found them in their homes and rounded them up at St Barbara’s shrine just on the edge of Caramles. There were about a dozen of them there, the last remaining Christian inhabitants of the village. “You must convert,” IS forces told them. “Our faith can promise you paradise,” they added. Victoria and Gazella responded: “We believe that if we show love and kindness,...FaithWomen in Asiagsk2015-03-05T17:55:50-05:00She wants you to know how she feelshttp://feminine-genius.typepad.com/femininegenius/2015/02/she-wants-you-to-know-how-she-feels.html
FaithForgivenessgsk2015-02-26T11:38:47-05:00Lenten Retreat for Womenhttp://feminine-genius.typepad.com/femininegenius/2015/02/lenten-retreat-for-women.html
The deadline is fast approaching for a Day of Reflection at Saint Mary's parish in Ridgefield, CT. Details are here. Should be a lovely day, and you could get some serious spring cleaning done early!EngagementsForgivenessGood things!gsk2015-02-26T11:27:43-05:00